Baldassarra family-owned home builder Greenpark Group has donated $12 million to William Osler Health System Foundation to help build Brampton’s new hospital.
The donation, Greenpark’s largest philanthropic gift in company history, was celebrated Oct. 28 at an event at Brampton City Hall hosted by Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, the hospital system and the hospital foundation.
The funds will support the transformation of Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health and Wellness (Peel Memorial) into Brampton’s new hospital.
The new hospital will feature a multi-story patient tower for patients requiring longer hospital stays, with space to accommodate future expansion. The facility will provide new and expanded outpatient clinics, day programs and expanded seniors care and mental health and addictions programs.
The new patient tower will also house a new emergency department.
“A second hospital is essential for the continued well-being of our diverse and growing community,” Ken Mayhew, president and CEO of Osler Foundation, said in a news release. “This transformational lead gift cements Greenpark Group as an important part of the 100-year legacy of community support for Peel Memorial Hospital.”
Dr. Frank Martino, president and CEO of the hospital system, said the donation will go “a long way to help ensure our world-class physicians and staff” have the facilities and resources to continue delivering compassionate, close-to-home care for the community.
“Greenpark Group and Osler share the common principle that everyone in our communities has access to high-quality health care, when and where they need it,” he said in the release.
Greenpark, founded by Carlo Baldassarra, has made significant contributions to Brampton’s residential landscape, including the Professor’s Lake community — one of Mr. Baldassarra’s first projects in the city, the release said, noting Baldassarra is an “ardent champion of community health care.”
Brown called the $12 million donation a “historic milestone,” noting in a statement that the gift “goes a long way to achieve our goal of Brampton’s second hospital and it is a testament to a collective dedication to enhancing health care in our city.”
Osler — a hospital system serving more than 1.3 million people in Brampton, north Etobicoke and Caledon — includes Brampton Civic Hospital, Etobicoke General Hospital and Peel Memorial.
Recently Osler released the request for proposals to build the new Peel Memorial Hospital, which it says is a “significant milestone” in the project.
A competitive request for qualifications process began in May.
Osler said four “top-tier teams” have been shortlisted and are now invited to submit proposals.
The four pre-qualified teams — Progress Peel Health Solutions, Pomerleau Healthcare Partners, EllisDon Corporation and Bird Design-Build Construction Inc. — will prepare proposals that detail how they would deliver the project, the hospital system said, adding pre-construction work is actively underway as Osler progresses through the required stages of government approvals.
Early construction on the site is expected to begin in the spring. “The final design and construction timeline will be established in partnership with the successful proponent,” Osler said.